Big Richard, 14" forward firing aircraft rocket, China Lake, 1945. Official U.S. Navy photo.

11.75" Tiny Tim rocket, Harvey Field, Inyokern, circa 1945. Tiny Tim was designed by the CalTech-China Lake team as a bunker-buster, Tim was the first large aircraft rocket, and saw only limited service in WWII. Navy photo.

NOTS China Lake termination weather, 1945.

China Lake Pilot Plant, building 3-B, transfer dock, just completed. Kern County Library, Bakersfield, CA from the collection of Roland C. Stone, Project Engineer.

Building #1, 12-inch press, just completed. Kern County Library, Bakersfield, CA from the collection of Roland C. Stone, Project Engineer.

Facilities in use at the Salt Wells Pilot Plant during Project Camel included these cooling towers, China Lake, circa 1945. Rocketeer photo.

Blandy Avenue, sans trees, China Lake 1945. Rocketeer photo.

F4U-1D Corsair, NOTS-19, 11.75" Tiny Tim rocket, lanyard reel, Harvey Field, Inyokern, 05 Jan 1945. Official U.S. Navy photo.

Construction of Dahlgren hangar (hangar #1), Armitage Field, China Lake, 30 Jan 1945. Official U.S. Navy photo from the Rocketeer.

Project Camel announcement and need for secrecy, California Institute of Technology, 01 February 1945.

Packing a "Fat Man" test shape at China Lake Salt Wells Pilot Plant, a highly secret facility of the Manhattan Project; bomb-shape drops and explosives and explosive-lens development and production were part of Project Camel at NOTS; Salt Wells' relationship to the A-Bomb project and, later, to the AEC, remained secret for decades thereafter.

NOTS Camel Drop building, China Lake, circa 1945. Official U.S. Navy photo.

NOTS F4U-1D Corsair BuNo unknown (NOTS-24) and HVAR's, circa February 1945. Official U.S. Navy photo from NAN.

F4U-1D Corsair NOTS-24, HVAR rocket firing, 06 February 1945. Official U.S. Navy photo.

F4U-1D Corsair NOTS-24, HVAR rocket firing, 06 February 1945. Official U.S. Navy photo.

F4U-1D Corsair NOTS-24, 11.75" Tiny Tim & HVAR rocket firing, 06 February 1945. Official U.S. Navy photo.

Foundations being poured for Michelson Lab., China Lake, 14 February 1945. Rocketeer photo..

PBJ-1H Mitchell, 11.75" Tiny Tim rocket, Harvey Field, Inyokern, 24 Feb 1945. Official U.S. Navy photo

RAdm. H.F. Bruns and RAdm. H.B. Combs favorably impressed on NOTS Inyokern inspection tour, China Lake, 06 March 1945. Rocketeer photo.

F6F-5 Hellcat, 11.75" Tiny Tim rocket boresight, Harvey Field, Inyokern, 15 Mar 1945. Official U.S. Navy photo.

PBJ-1H Mitchell, BuNo unknown, Tiny Tim, 11.75 inch, 1,250 lb. rocket wing drop launcher, Harvey Field, 19 March 1945. Official U.S. Navy photo.

NOTS China Lake R4D-1 Skytrain BuNo 5053, NOTS-7, Harvey Field, 19 March 1945. Official U.S. Navy photo.

Adm. Royal E. Ingersoll, ComWestern Sea Frontier and Capt. S.E. Burroughs Jr., CO NOTS Inyokern, CA, during an informal inspection of the ordnance test station, 28 March 1945. Courtesy of Adm. J. M. Worthington, USN (RET), 1980.

USAAF B-29A Superfortress s/n 45-21850 with Project Camel modifications to test atom-bomb shapes (aka pumpkins) over China Lake Ranges, SW corner of the ramp, Armitage Field, probably spring 1945. Photo courtesy of the Maturango Museum.

USAAF B-29A Superfortress s/n 45-21850 with Project Camel modifications to test atom-bomb shapes (aka pumpkins) over China Lake Ranges, Armitage Field, probably spring 1945. Hangar 1 (Dahlgren hanger) and control tower in the background at right. Photo courtesy of the Maturango Museum.

PV-2 Harpoon, NOTS-4, officers & assorted rockets, 01 Apr 1945. Official U.S. Navy photo.

Armitage Field, China Lake, two B-29's parked on the ramp, 04 Apr 1945. Official U.S. Navy photo. The Superforts are used to conduct drop tests of putative atomic bomb shapes and to test support equipment and procedures as part of Project Camel.

Three B-29's parked on the ramp, Armitage Field, 04 Apr 1945. Official U.S. Navy photo. The Superforts are used to conduct drop tests of putative atomic bomb shapes and to test support equipment and procedures as part of Project Camel.

PBJ-1H Mitchell, two side mounted 11.75" Tiny Tim rockets, Harvey Field, Inyokern, 28 Apr 1945. Official U.S. Navy photo.

BTD-1 Destroyer, rocket test, Area L, 28 May 1945. Official U.S. Navy photo.

A supersonic ramjet test vehicle is launched from NOTS, Inyokern, June 1945. Photo Applied Physics Lab., Johns Hopkins Univ./Navy.

Adam Burch created this painting of PBJ-1H BuNo 88966 in 2007 to commemorate Donald McBeth's service, and presented it to his aunt, Donald's wife.

Robert Tenholder and Donald D. McBeth in front of PBJ-1H Mitchell BuNo 88966 on the flight line at Harvey Field, Inyokern. In the background is the tail of another PBJ-1H, the tail of a JRC, a GB-1 Staggerwing, a Nordyn Norseman and another JRC, 1945. Photo from Donald MacBeth.

Interior of building #214, used for static-firing tests; large motor testing bay. Kern Co. Library from the collection of Roland C. Stone, Project Engineer.

West side of static-firing test building #214 of China Lake complex; picture taken shortly after building completed, July 3, 1945. Kern Co. Library from the collection of Roland C. Stone, Project Engineer.

U.S. NOTS, Building # 102, China Lake Pilot Plant, gate House and garage shortly after building completed, July 3, 1945. Kern Co. Library from the collection of Roland C. Stone, Project Engineer.

U.S. NOTS, Building # 14 China Lake Pilot Plant, motor loading building taken shortly after building completed, July 19, 1945. Kern Co. Library from the collection of Roland C. Stone, Project Engineer.

Construction of guard post leading to Salt Wells Power Plant, 19 July 1945. Rocketeer photo.

Salt Wells Pilot Plant Guard Gate as it looked on July 31, 1945. Rocketeer photo.

Armitage Field, China Lake, 25 July 1945. Official U.S. Navy photo.

Members of the NOTS-Caltech team, from left, are Cdr. John O. Richmond, Dr. Charles C. Lauritsen, Capt. Sherman E. Burroughs Jr., Cdr. John T. Hayward, Dr. William A. Fowler, and Dr. Emory L. Ellis. The occasion was Burroughs’ going-away party in August 1945.

Seven HVAR's streak ahead of the 11.75" Tiny Tim as it drops nose down from an F4U Corsair over the Inyokern range, circa 1945. Naval Aviation News photo.

11.75" Tiny Tim Rocket, September 1945. Official U.S. Navy photo from Naval Aviation News.

11.75" Tiny Tim Rocket, September 1945. Naval Aviation News photo.

PV-2 Harpoon BuNo 37457, c/n 1423, test firing 11.75" Tin Tim rocket, 06 Nov 1945. Official U.S. Navy photo.

F6F-5 Hellcat BuNo 94409, Tiny Tim rocket launch, 06 November 1945. Official U.S. Navy photo.

F4U-1D Corsair firing HVAR's, 26 November 1945. Official U.S. Navy photo.

F6F-5 Hellcat BuNo 94409, Tiny Tim rocket launch, 07 November 1945. Official U.S. Navy photo.

USAAF P-38 Lightning, s/n 44-xx47, & 11.75-inch Tiny Tim, circa 1945. Official U.S. Navy photo from the Secret City video.